A Different Path
by Sabaku no Ryu
Summary: {Chapter 6 UP!} How would things be different if Gaara's twin sister had been born as well?
1. Prologue

Ohaiyo everyone! Welcome to my first official fanfic! I'd like to introduce my muses:

**Gaara-kun**!

**Ed and Ein**!

**Kyo**!

**Count D**!

and

**Sumomo**!

{Cheers and whistles}

**Kyo**: She's beginning to freak me out.

**Gaara**: Just beginning? You're lucky.

**Ed**: Ed and Ein will hack into her computer and jolt her!

**Ryu**: Don't even think abou...(zap) OUCH!!!

**Count D**: Please don't mind them...they ate some of the chocolates I ordered.

**Ryu**: YOU GAVE THEM SUGAR!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

**Gaara**: Oh, fabulous...{turns to Ryu} I can kill them if you want.

**Ryu**: Um...no...{watches Ed and Ein race around the room} On second thought, maybe later.

**Sumomo**: {Blows whistle} Warning! Warning! It's time to start the fanfic!

**Ryu**: Gaaaa! I completely forgot! Ok...here it is! Enjoy!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Naruto characters aren't mine (obviously). I do own Naruto manga...Kisaike is an OC...Don't kill me...{cowers}  
  
**A Different Path**  
  
**Prologue**

A woman lay in the sand, her pretty face contorted in pain, the wind blowing sand around her. She refused to go to a hospital, and lay here, in nature, straining to stop the process of birth. Nearby, a man, her husband, stood, watching his wife fight the fruit of their union. He did not aid her, nor did he stop her fight. He just watched, detached.

I don't want this child, she thought, pleading to the heavens. Her pleas fell unanswered as, bid or not, a boy with a full head of fiery-red hair managed to slide out. The pain, however, did not subside with his exit. If anything, it doubled. She looked at the child with pure hatred in her honey- brown eyes. Leaning closer, she whispered softly, so her husband couldn't hear her.

"You will be my curse upon this village," the woman hissed, glaring at the child who had, by being born, stolen her life. "I call you Gaara, the demon who loves only himself." She returned to her back, beckoning to the man. He walked over and leaned down close to hear her last words. Then, she shuddered and fell back, a final breath escaping her lips.

The man arose, picked up his son, and stepped away from his wife. The wind calmed as the sand seemed to come alive. It bubbled and swam about the woman, slowly enveloping her into it. He watched as she disappeared without even a trace that she had ever been. He then looked down at his son. The boy's aquamarine eyes stared right back. He allowed himself a smile.

"Gaara, huh? Well, I can at least do her that justice." He lightly ruffled the boy's hair. "So Gaara it will be. You are very important to all of us in the Sand." He turned to leave.

Suddenly, he heard the sand move again, and with it came a piercing cry. It increased in pitch until it was no longer insulated by the sand. It was the cry of a baby. Looking down, he saw that Gaara was looking back towards the place where his mother had once been, what could be taken for happiness on his face. The man turned. There, laying on the sand where the woman fought her end, was a child identical to Gaara in every way but one. It was female.

"Twins?" the man murmured to himself. He turned again, intent on leaving the girl to the whim of the desert when another shrill cry rent the air. He looked down. Gaara was wailing at the top of his lungs, all the while holding his arms back towards the sand, as if trying to summon his sister to him. The man stopped and let out a sigh.

"Fine. We'll take her too." He turned and picked up the girl. As if on cue, the twins stopped crying and snuggled together. The man glared at the girl. "I suppose you'll need a name," he growled. "You'll be called Kisaike." He shook his head, sighed again, and headed back towards the village.

Yay! It's begun! (Sorry it's so short) Now...where the heck am I going to take it? {confused}

**Gaara**: {smacks Ryu on the back of the head with tendril of sand} So you started this story without knowing where you were going? Baka!!!

**Count D**: Maybe a good cup of tea and a piece of delectable cheesecake will help. Mmmmmm.

**Gaara**: The tea won't do a bit of good. She's constantly weird from her caffeine intake. I swear, if she could just get the caffeine injected straight into her bloodstream by IV, she'd never leave the front of the computer.

**Kyo**: I'm surrounded by weird people...

**Ryu**: Mmmmmm...cheesecake...caffeine...Mountain Dew Livewire...ahhhhhhhhh {shivers in delight} Happiness...

**Gaara**: Like I said...

Please review!!! Reviews are yummy!!!


	2. Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Breaking

I know it's kind of odd, but I just couldn't stop.

**Kyo**: I don't even want a hint of what she's talking about.

**Gaara**: She's just being odd. She's like that.

**Ed**: Ein Cannon! {Blasts Ein into Kyo}

**Kyo**: What the...?! {Grabs chair and hurls it at Ed. Misses and hits Sumomo}

**Sumomo**: OW! Why you...! {Tries to tackle Kyo, misses, ends up face first in Count D's cake}

**Count D**: If you really wanted some that bad, you could have just asked. {Flings Sumomo at Gaara}

{Riot ensues}

**Ryu**: Ahh, the sound of creativity!

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Breaking  
  
Six Years Later

"Nii-san! Where are you?" Kisaike ran through the house, her waist-length hair floating behind her like a flame. She saw her uncle in the kitchen, preparing to make dinner. Skidding to a halt in the doorway, she waited for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Her uncle turned and stood there, looking bemused, smiling.   
"Yes?"   
"Have you seen Gaara-kun?"   
Yashamaru nodded. "He's at the playground, Kisaike-chan." His eyes narrowed a bit and his smile faded. "Kisaike, why do you have dark circles around your eyes?"   
Kisaike stopped smiling. "Nii-san doesn't sleep," she said thoughtfully. Then she brightened. "So I taught myself to stay awake with him so he won't be lonely." She gave him a quick hug. "I'm going to go find Gaara now. Arigato, oji-sama!" She turned and ran out the front door.   
Yashamaru watched her worriedly. /She's becoming too much like him, and he's becoming violent without even meaning to be. His brow creased more. /I've got to stop this.   
Kisaike ran through the crowded streets without difficulty. Being the twin sister of the vessel of a demon had its perks. People parted to let her pass, their eyes watching her every move. No one dared mess with her, since they all feared her brother. She cast angry eyes at the people as she passed. She could hear them whisper about Gaara. She was tired of them fearing Gaara. He was not a dangerous person! /Someday, they'll give Gaara the respect he deserves. She hoped, as she ran, that it would be soon.  
Kisaike slid to a stop at the playground. It was deserted except for her twin brother sitting on the swings. He was holding a kickball, looking at it as if it held the secrets to ultimate happiness within. He didn't look up as she approached.   
"Nii-san? What's wrong?"   
He looked up, tears brimming in his aquamarine eyes. Her eyes, identical to his in every way, held his gaze. "I tried to help them and they all ran away. They called me a...a monster." The tears spilled over. "Kisai-chan, am I a monster?"  
Kisaike quelled the rage building within her. "No, Gaara-kun, you are not a monster." She hugged him tight. "I promise." He smiled at her as she sat in the swing next to him. They swung side-by- side until the night washed over the Village of Sand.  
  
Gaara and Kisaike walked home through the dark streets. Passing a bar, they heard a shout. They turned towards the sound, and ended up facing a very drunk, very talkative, very stupid man.   
"Hey, everyone, look," he shouted towards the bar. People stuck their heads out of the doors and windows. Even the neighbors peeked out their windows in interest. "It's the demon kid and his stupid sister." He laughed, not noticing the rage building in the twins' eyes, nor the fact that he was laughing alone. Everyone else either looked at the twins in terror, or looked at the drunkard in amazement. Unconcerned, he continued his tirade. "You'd think she'd be scared, since he is a demon and all, but no. You know what I think," he slurred, leaning towards Kisaike, "I think that all she's cut out to be is someone's slut." He reached out to grab her.   
Suddenly, the sand began to encase him and raise him from the ground. He froze, then began to attempt to escape, but, before he could even gasp, the sand enveloped him. Gaara, hand outstretched, closed his fist with such ferocity that his nails dug into the sand barrier on his palm. The sand squeezed, crushing the man inside. There was no scream, no crunch, just the soft swoosh of the sand. Gaara released his fist, and the man crumpled to the ground. He stood there for a moment, shocked at what he'd just done. Then, he turned and met Kisaike's eyes. For a split-second time seemed to stop. Breaking the contact, Gaara turned and ran as fast as he could, away from everyone.   
"Nii-san! Gaara!" Kisaike yelled after him, but he didn't slow.  
"Hey, he's dead!" One of the other men in the bar had braved out and was now kneeling over the drunkard. Kisaike decided that a hasty retreat would probably be in her best interest at that moment. As the men began to move towards her, she tore off in the direction that Gaara had gone.  
  
Gaara sat on a rooftop, crying. Why did everyone hate him so much? He wasn't a bad person! He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the shadow behind him, or the six kunai they had thrown until the sand moved and shielded him from the attack. As he stood and turned, another six flew, but the sand was too fast. Turning fully, he used the same technique he had used on the drunkard, only this time leaving the head and neck unscathed. He wanted some answers, and crushing the assassin's skull and windpipe were not the way to get them. The person was wearing a mask and head-cover, hiding their identity from their six-year-old target.   
Gaara, shaking from fear and confusion, approached the groaning attacker. He hesitated, then reached out and pulled the mask away. His eyes widened as the face of his uncle was revealed. Gaara's knees gave way, unable to hold him after this last shock. He sank down next to Yashamaru.   
"Wh...why?" Gaara stuttered, confused. "Why are you trying to kill me?"   
Yashamaru groaned, but managed to speak through his pain. "It was an order."   
"An order? From who?" Gaara's curiosity quelled his fear. At least, until his uncle spoke two words.   
"Your father."  
Gaara's eyes widened. "My father? But why...?"   
"Before you were born, you had a demon, Shuukaku, placed inside of you. But you haven't learned how to control it. So, the experiment was deemed a failure. He ordered me to kill you." Yashamaru coughed, then spit out blood.   
Hope lit Gaara's face. "But, if you were ordered to kill me, then you didn't have a choice, right?" His eyes pleaded with his uncle.   
Yashamaru shook his head slowly. "He gave me the chance to turn down the offer, but...I wanted to do it." He looked at Gaara.   
Tears filled Gaara's eyes again. "But...why? You said that I was precious to you!"   
"I tried making you precious to me, but...your birth took my beloved sister away from me. She never wanted to give birth to you. She was forced to. She named you Gaara, the demon who loves only himself, so that you would never truly know caring love. You were to be her curse on this village. But because of Kisaike, you do know caring love. You don't deserve that. You are a monster." He opened his vest to reveal his shirt, which was covered with explosion tags. "Please die."  
Kisaike entered the roof just in time to hear Yashamaru's last words. Suddenly, the world around her exploded.  
  
When she came to, she saw Gaara using the sand that had protected him from the explosion to tattoo the Kanji symbol ai onto the left side of his forehead.   
"Gaara, what are you doing?" Kisaike asked, tears welling in her eyes.   
The sand calmed almost immediately. Gaara turned, hand poised, ready to attack all that dare come after him. When he saw Kisaike, his eyes widened, then went back to glaring at her.   
"You probably knew all along, didn't you? You knew our mother didn't want me, didn't love me! That our father wanted me dead! Didn't you?!"   
A single tear spilled over onto Kisaike's cheek as she beheld her brother. Their clothes were identical, eyes, hair color, identical. Why was he saying these things? "Gaara-kun, don't you remember all those times when our father would delight in telling me that the only reason I lived past the day of our birth was because you wanted me to? Remember him threatening to dump me in the desert? But that I only lived until you didn't want me to anymore?" Gaara's eyes softened. "Of course I didn't know. If I had, I'd have tried to kill our father before this ever happened!" More tears fell, making paths through the dust on her cheeks.   
Gaara just stood there, eyes watching the roof. He didn't make a move to comfort her. He was torn. He didn't know whether to say something, or leave. He was spared from any decision, however, as Kisaike spoke again.  
"I know you probably don't believe me. And I don't blame you." She began to rise, something clutched in her left hand. With her right, she moved her hair off her neck by pulling it up into a ponytail and holding it with her hand. "But maybe this will convince you that I, at least, am still on your side." With that, she slid her left hand upward. The kunai she had grabbed, razor-sharp, glinted in the moonlight. She lowered her right hand and held it out to him, the remains of her waist-length hair clenched firmly in her fist. Gaara's mouth dropped open. A breeze kicked up, and Kisaike released her grip, sending her hair flowing on the wind's rivers over the village. She then proceeded to use a small mirror she pulled from her pocket and cut her hair to the exact length and style of her brother's.   
Gaara just stood there, confused. Kisaike, while not possessed with Shuukaku, had abilities of her own, and one of those abilities was the power to manipulate sand. While nowhere near the extent of her brother's, her ability sufficed for the purpose. She used the sand, infused with the blood of her uncle, to tattoo the ai symbol onto her forehead. When he saw what she was about to do, Gaara moved to stop her, but he was too late. When the sand and wind died down, he found himself looking at his exact copy.   
"Wha...what did you just do?" Gaara stuttered.   
"I basically made myself into you."   
"Why?" Gaara couldn't understand why his sister had just made herself into a copy of the pariah of the Village of Sand.  
Kisaike sat down and looked over the village. Gaara sat down next to her. "I was so tired of hearing what people said about you. They said that I was stupid to even care for you, blood or no, twin or no. They called you a monster." Her eyes steeled. "Even our own family tried to kill you." Then, she smiled at him. "But now you won't have to go through all that alone anymore. No one will be able to tell us apart." She looked back over the town and her eyes steeled once more. "Now they'll have to go through me to get to you."   
Gaara felt his eyes tear. He leaned over and hugged his sister. "I'm sorry for having said all those things. I know you'll never leave me."   
She hugged him back. "Never, nii-san."   
They sat, looking at the sky. Soon, two voices pierced the dark and quiet behind them. "Gaara! What happened?" The twins recognized the voice of their nine-year- old sister, Temari.   
"Kisaike, is that you? Are you ok?" Their eight-year-old brother Kankurou's voice rose behind Temari.   
The twins stood and turned in unison to face their siblings. They looked completely identical. Temari gasped. Kankurou's jaw dropped.   
"What happened?" Temari managed to sputter.   
The twins spoke in unison. They even sounded identical. "Oji tried to kill us. He was ordered to by father. We don't mean anything to him. We only mean something," they clasped hands, "to each other."   
Temari and Kankurou could only stare. "I can't tell you two apart," muttered Kankurou.   
"That's the point," the Gaara on the right stated. "This way..."  
"People only have a 50% chance of hurting the correct one," the Gaara on the left finished.   
Footsteps on the stairs behind Temari and Kankurou drew everyone's attention. When their father, the Kazekage, stepped onto the roof, the twins' eyes narrowed. Their father seemed very surprised at the sight of two Gaaras staring him down, but he stared anyway. His eyes were met by two identical sets of eyes, one set dark rimmed from insomnia out of necessity, the other set dark rimmed from insomnia out of love.

**Ryu: **I admit. Kinda corny ending to this chapter...but I think it works. Please reveiw!!!


	3. Chapter 2: Shattering Point

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Naruto, etc. Kisaike is MINE though. You can use her, but ask me first, K?

**Ryu**: {dodges flying objects} Ok, ok, I know I'm late in updating, but it's been difficult. My floppy disk that held my fanfic is being weird and saying that it needs reformatting...but I won't do that unless I'm sure that I won't lose my stuff.

**Gaara**: Don't listen to her...she hasn't worked on it at all anyway, so the disk problem doesn't matter...

**Ryu**: {chucks nearest object at Gaara} Quiet! I don't feel like being lynched today!

**Etna**: Ooooh, a lynching! I haven't been to one of those yet...although I know I've known a few prinnies who were lynched...

**Count D**: What, exactly, is a prinny, my dear demon?

**Etna**: {explains prinnies to Count D} (play Disgaea for PS 2)

**Ryu**: {trying to sneak away}

**Kyo**: {snags Ryu by collar} Oh, no you don't! If I have to sit here and dodge things, so do you! Just update and they'll stop. {lowers voice} I hope.

**Ryu**: {sighs} Ok, but if the characters do something you don't like, remember, they run the show...not me...

**Gaara**: Finally, she gives credit where credit is due.

**Sumomo**: I get credit too! I remind Ryu to look things up and make sure that everything is as close as it can be.

**Ed**: Ed and Ein get credit too, because we make sure that she isn't always serious.

**Count D**: My part is obvious. I remind Ryu that, without sugar and caffeine, she will go on a mad killing spree. I make sure that doesn't happen.

**Etna**: I make sure that none of her stuff is corny, lovey-dovey, skippy-happy stuff. I kindly remind her (with the point of my spear) that there has to be an antagonist and conflict in every story, no matter what. It's due to me that none of this is marshmallow fluff.

**Kyo**: I make sure that her heroes and action scenes are as good as possible, even if she isn't that good at writing them. I give hints, make suggestions, and occasionally, kick-start her mind. I attempt to get her over her writer's blocks.

**Ryu**: Yes, you're all very useful, but if you please, quit the chatter. I need to write.

**Gaara**: Um, that's why we're chattering. It's our job to talk in your mind and give you ideas.

**Ryu**: Fine, you have a point. Alright then, get on track! Fanfic, here we come!

**Chapter 2: Shattering Point**

Temari grabbed Kankurou and ducked behind a nearby piece of debris. It wouldn't do either of them any good to try and get in the middle of the crossfire. And she was sure there would be some. Temari watched as her father's eyes swept the rooftop, taking it the damage. He then turned his gaze back to the twins, and Temari saw it. Behind the arrogance, anger, and fake worry, there was a glimmer of pure hatred, and fear. Kankurou was just huddled behind his older sister, confused. He tapped Temari on the shoulder, intent on asking her what the heck was going on, when their father's voice cut the night.

"Which of you is Gaara?" The Kazekage's voice was sharp, but the twins detected in his voice what Temari had seen in his eyes. Fear. His hands had wandered into the sleeves of his robe.

Going for a weapon, no doubt, thought Temari. She began to judge the distance from the chunk of the roof that she was hiding behind to the twins, trying to find out if there was any way possible to protect them.

The twins smiled. Small, identical, _infuriating_ smiles. The Kazekage shook with anger.

"Damn it! Either tell me which of you is which, or I'll kill you both!" His hands pulled out of his sleeves, revealing a kunai between each of his fingers. The twins' smiles just became more amused. He growled and let loose the eight kunai. The sand rose and blocked every kunai. He threw another spray. Blocked again. He pulled out another set of kunai, then hesitated.

"I know how to tell you apart," he said, smiling. He threw the eight kunai out to the sides and began to make seals with his hands. The twins, having not yet gotten too far at the academy, didn't recognize the seals. The Kazekage knew, and watched as the seals were finished and the kunai flew to his command. The twins seemed to prepare for a frontal attack of some sort of chakra power. The Kazekage smiled a small, evil smile. They have no idea, he thought.

"Whichever of you the sand doesn't protect is Kisaike. If one of you lift a sand shield to protect either of you, I can tell." He smiled as the kunai flew from the sides towards the oblivious twins.

Temari saw what her father was trying to do, and opened her mouth to warn the twins. Kankurou clamped his hand over it, pulling her down.

"Shut up, sis! If you yell, he'll try to kill us too!"

Temari knew he was right, but watched in horror as the kunai closed in on her youngest siblings. She scrunched her eyes shut and covered her ears to block out any light or sound. She didn't want to know anything.

Suddenly, the sand arose on either side of the twins and blocked the kunai. They looked at the sand, then back at their father, the same infuriating smiles on their faces as before. The Kazekage gaped.

"The sand protects us both now. We are both furthering the goal of our mother," the Gaara on the right said.

"Now it will be twice as hard to catch the correct Gaara. Also, while one of us has Shuukaku, the other has a bit of Shuukaku essence. The problem with inserting a demon into a child in the womb when there're two of them in there," the Gaara on the left continued.

"So even checking chakra types and levels won't work. We are now completely identical," the Gaara on the right finished.

The Kazekage just growled, turned and left the roof. The twins turned towards Temari and Kankurou.

"So, does the sand really protect you both?" Temari asked, eyes wide.

The twins picked up kunai and shoved them down towards their hands as hard as they could. Temari moved to stop them, but was too late. She gasped.

Just as the kunai points were about to touch the skin, a small fountain of sand rose from the backs of their hands and stopped the kunai dead. Temari smiled.

"Good. Don't worry. I won't ask you which is which, but I'll help you in any way I can."

The twins smiled, real smiles, and the four of them walked off towards home.

Temari kept her word. When the twins' hair grew out and got unruly, the Kazekage ordered them to go into town and get it cut. That's when Temari jumped in. She offered to cut their hair at home for free. Since the Kazekage was known to be a person who believed in doing things cheap, he couldn't argue. While cutting their hair, she explained to the twins that her friend, a stylist, had been told that when the twins came in, to cut their hair, but cut a little extra off of one, so that he could tell them apart. Every stylist in town had been told this. Temari cut their hair identically, while telling them this. She was on their side, and they were grateful.

Then, the Kazekage thought up another plan. Kisaike and Gaara had separate rooms before the Yashamaru thing, and so they also had different things. As they had now moved into Gaara's room, all the stuff was in there. All he had to do was watch and see which Gaara grabbed what from their room. Since there was only one of everything, it could be traced back to one of them. The Kazekage sat at the breakfast table, explaining every detail to Temari and Kankurou, reveling in the fact that he would that night know who was who. Temari kept quiet and waited until he'd left for the day. When she was sure he was gone, she went into the twins' room and made a list of everything they owned. She took the money that she had been saving diligently for a new fan jutsu book and the list and went out. She purchased duplicates of everything that the twins owned. Then, she went back to their house and spent the rest of the day making everything look exact. She finished a little while before her father came home. When he got home and walked into the twins' room, the bellow of rage was audible on the roof. The twins looked at each other and went downstairs.

The Kazekage looked at the four children sitting on the couch. The twins, then Temari, with Kankurou on the other end, looked right back at him. Three of the looks were laced with different levels of defiance and hate. Kankurou, however, looked confused and scared, as he had no idea what had been going on between his sister and their father.

"Who's been doing this?" he asked, very quietly, a sign he was angry. "Who's been messing up ideas that I so carefully think out and plan?"

The twins smirked. Their father was trying not to give away the fact that all his plans dealt with the twins. Unfortunately for him, Temari felt more loyalty to the twins than to him. She'd been telling the twins everything. They had to admit, it was amusing to watch him squirm.

Temari stood, folded her arms, and smirked at him. "I have. I won't let you do anything to my little Gaaras." She stared at him defiantly.

Their father looked at the ground. Suddenly, he slapped her hard across the face, sending her flying across the room. She hit the wall hard and slumped to the ground, dazed. The Kazekage advanced on her with kunai raised.

"You insubordinate child! I'll kill you where you stand!" he shouted. Temari flinched and held her arms up in front of her face, waiting for the strike.

But it never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw the twins standing, their aquamarine eyes blazing, and her father, encased up to his chin in angrily swirling sand. She couldn't believe her eyes. For the first time, her father looked frightened.

"You will not hurt Temari, ever," the twins said quietly. Their arms and fingers were outstretched. They tensed, preparing to squeeze.

Temari stood up and stepped between the twins and the Kazekage.

"Please don't. He's not worth it," she said. "I'm alright, and I don't want the town after your blood more than they already are. The blood you will get on your hands is not worth it. He knows he's defeated." She smiled at them and held out her hands.

The twins nodded and turned their father around.

"If you ever hurt Temari or Kankurou," the one on the left started.

"We will kill you without hesitation," finished the right.

The Kazekage nodded, and the twins dropped the sand. Looking fit to kill, he retired to his room. Kankurou quickly followed suit.

Temari sighed and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt warm pressure on either side. Opening her eyes, she saw that the twins were embracing her tightly. She smiled and returned their embrace. Temari walked the twins up to their room and was about to go to hers when the twins called her back.

"Sleep in our room tonight," said the left one.

"We'll watch over you while you sleep."

"No one will get you."

Temari smiled and relented to their request. She flopped down on the futon. One of the twins pulled up the covers. The other began to sing a beautiful song.

When the song was done, right before she dropped off, Temari managed to ask, "Where did you learn that?"

"From one of the caravans. I always go and listen to their songs and try to learn them if I can," the Gaara answered.

"It...was...beautiful..." Temari said softly, as she drifted off to sleep.

The next couple of years were relatively uneventful. The four children attended classes at the ninja academy, and went about their daily business. The assassination attempts were still there, but none were as eventful as the first one had been.

One day, a few days before the twins' eighth birthday, Gaara went to the place in the desert where he had been born. He tried to relive that night, from what his father had said. When he got to the part where Kisaike rose from the sand, he noticed something.

Right where Kisaike had risen from the sand, there was an odd rock. Gaara picked it up. It wasn't a rock after all. It was an odd crystal. It was black, but it seemed to have rainbows embedded inside. It was small, just about the right size for a pendant. Suddenly, Gaara had a great idea. He ran back home, got some money, and went to the jewelers.

When he walked in, a collective gasp went through the store. He looked around, and went to one of the people behind the counter.

"Can I help you?" The man had amazing stamina, as he didn't shudder or shake one bit as Gaara approached him.

"Y...Ye...Yes..." Gaara stuttered. He looked ready to talk, then he looked around rather worriedly at everyone else, who hadn't taken their eyes off him.

The man was surprised. Gaara was shy. He smiled a real, warm smile, came out from behind the counter, and knelt down next to Gaara. Gaara started, but stood his ground.

"Will it make it easier if you whisper it to me?" he asked, looking into Gaara's aquamarine eyes.

Gaara's eyes widened, but then he smiled shyly and nodded. He leaned over and cupped his hand around the jeweler's ear.

" I found this crystal in the exact place my twin was born. I want it to be made into a choker, please." Gaara opened his hand, showing the jeweler the money. "This is how much I have. Is it enough?"

The jeweler looked down. There was no where near enough money, but what he had seen just then had paid for it. He closed Gaara's hand.

"Won't cost you a thing. It's a present right?" He winked. Gaara's face brightened. "Now, may I see this stone?"

Gaara reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone. The jeweler's eyes went wide.

"I've never seen anything like this before." He turned it in his fingers. "But, I'll make you what you asked for." He leaned down to whisper in Gaara's ear. "And I'll keep your secret."

"Thank you very much!" Gaara said.

"Come back tomorrow and it should be done."

The next day, Gaara picked up the choker. It was perfect, and it would fit Kisaike's neck perfectly. The jeweler had taken a measurement of Gaara's neck and used it. The jeweler had even put it in a small box and had taken the time to wrap it very carefully. Gaara thanked him and placed the box in his pocket. The next day couldn't come fast enough.

The next day, Temari threw a little party for the four of them. It was small, but fun. Temari gave them identical gourds.

"If you leave the Sand country, you can put sand in the gourds. That way, you'll never be without it."

The twins smiled and hugged her. The four of them went outside and filled the gourds, and the twins practiced walking, running and fighting with them on. After that, they never left home without them.

That night, in secret, Gaara presented Kisaike with the choker. She exclaimed over it, and put it on. It fit her perfectly, and looked beautiful. Life was as good as it was going to get.

But it was not to be for long. The Kazekage had been meeting, in secret, with representatives of a small village called the Hidden Village of Sound. He had been discussing the possibility of an alliance with them, when an opportunity to relieve himself of one of his problems came up.

"Our master would very much like a token of your good faith, that you mean well," said a shadowy nin. "Something small, but perhaps a bit valuable."

The Kazekage's eyes shone and an evil smile curved on his hidden face. "That will not be a problem. I have a child, Kisaike. I will give her to your village. But you must capture her on your own." The Kazekage almost laughed as a solution to his most difficult problem just landed on his lap. "I'll warn you, she is strong."

"If I recall correctly," the nin said thoughtfully, "you mentioned that she is twin to your Gaara. How am I to tell the difference?" The Sound liaison sounded wary. He'd heard stories about Gaara.

"Occasionally, at night, one of the twins goes off alone. I've followed. It's Kisaike. She watches stars and sings by a small spring. I'll tell you how to get there. You can take her by surprise there."

The Sound rep smiled. "Then, it is settled. I'll kidnap her tomorrow night when the caravan leaves. You can attribute her disappearance to them."

The Kazekage smiled even wider. "Perfect."

The next night, Kisaike went to her secret place. She'd invited Gaara to go, but he didn't really feel like leaving that night. She sat on a rock on the edge of the springs, singing songs she'd learned from the caravan that was leaving tonight. She was so swept up in the song about the beautiful medic-nin who saved live without thought of her own, but still wasn't powerful enough to save the two she loved, that she never noticed the shadow behind her.

The Sound nin hit her on the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. He pulled her, gourd and all, onto his back, and took off towards his village.

When she didn't return quickly, as she usually did when she knew he was waiting, Gaara got worried. He saw the Kazekage coming home and appeared in front of him. The Kazekage smiled.

"Looking for your other half? She, and yes, she told me which she was, left with the caravan. She said that you...scared...her, and that she no longer loves you."

Gaara's eyes went wide. "Yo...you're lying!"

"Am I?" His father looked amused. "She's going to Konoha to train and become a Leaf nin."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Gaara yelled. He took off in search of Kisaike. She wasn't at her secret place, the jewelry store, or the playground. He didn't find her anywhere. He perched on a roof and cried. The one person who promised she'd never leave, had left him. He was alone. He stood on the roof, screaming his rage to the heavens.

Kisaike awoke to being carried. Looking as who was carrying her, she saw an unfamiliar face. She was outside of the city. Panicking, she struggled and succeeded in making him drop her. She staggered to her feet and saw his hitae-ate headband. She backed away, and bumped into a tree. Confused, she looked at him.

"Who are you, where are we, and what do you want with me?" She felt other chakras nearby, but they were calming. She shook them off as animals.

"I'm from the Hidden Village of Sound, and yes, you are correct in your assumption that we are on the outskirts of Sand Country. We go North from here. Your father sold you as a token of good faith in our alliance. It was sealed this morning. Your father is telling your twin that you ran away because of him."

Kisaike's eyes grew wide, and began to fill with tears. "Gaara..."

The nin began to advance at her again. "You will be trained in our ways, and be one of us." He stopped in front of her.

Kisaike took this opportunity to kick him, as hard as she could. He recovered, grabbed her arm, and slapped her.

"Don't fight me, or you'll get to be my new toy on the way." He hit her again, slamming her head into the tree behind her, and knocking her out.

Suddenly, a shuriken flew out and hit the Sound nin in the shoulder, forcing him to step back. A voice rose in the night air.

"Flame's Justice!" A gout of fire flew out from the branches and engulfed the Sound nin. He didn't even get a chance to scream before the flames turned him to ash.

Kisaike came to for a moment and saw a ring of blurry faces around her. They spoke.

"Poor thing! Just a child," a woman's voice said.

"We can't take her back to her village. You heard what he said." A male voice, strong.

"What about her twin brother? Can't we find some way to tell him?" The same woman.

"I'm afraid not. Come on, let's take her to our village." Another male voice, soft, empathic.

She felt strong, gentle arms cradling her and picking her up. Her hand moved to her choker.

"Gaara..." she murmured, and fell back into blackness.

**Ryu:** Well, there you go.

**Gaara:** Well...what happens next?

**Ryu: **You're my muse...you oughta know...

**Gaara:** Grrrrrrrrrrr....

**Ryu:** Now please please please push the little button down there and write me a nice long review so that I can cry some more...

**Kyo:** You cry when people review?

**Ryu:** I'm happy...

**Sumomo:** Yeah, she jumps around the apartment like that guy (points to Count D) gave her too much chocolate...

**Count D:** It's a necessary evil...she'll kill me if I don't...


	4. Chapter 3: Beginning Anew

**DISCLAIMER: **I no own Naruto...it sucks, I know. I do own Gaeans, Riso, Amako, Kikai, and Sebraya.

**Ryu:** Ok, as a result of a few of my fans saying that they won't wait to get my next chapter, I am updating TODAY! Yay! I've been looking forward to hearing what you think. Also, (you'll be happy about this) the next chapter is almost finished!

**Gaara:** This is what happens when she gets only one hour of sleep and has to get up for work the next morning at 7.

**Ryu:** {sticks tongue out at Gaara} Just because I'm turning into you means...that means I get to spend more time writing. You gotta teach me that "waking meditation" that you do.

**Gaara:** {rolls eyes} The second I teach you that is the second everyone else in that apartment will find a way to hunt me down.

**Etna:** Why don't you just sleep for three hours instead? I mean, you don't have a demon who'll take over if you sleep. Well, except for me...{giggles evilly}

**Ryu:** Yeah, but if I do the waking meditation, I can think about what I'm going to do in the next chapter...

**Count D:** And, I'm assuming you're going to be wanting our help with this.

**Ryu:** Yeah...why?

**Etna:** Wait a second. You expect me to go on no sleep?!? Just three hours of waking meditation?

**Count D:** Well, technically, since she'd be thinking about story ideas during her meditation, we wouldn't have any reprieve. It would be 24/7.

**Kyo, Sumomo, Ed and Etna:** No way!

**Ryu:** Alright, alright, you win...for now...

**Chapter 3: Beginning Anew**

Kisaike stirred. She felt warm and...safe, somehow. She opened her eyes.

She was lying on a bed in a stark white room, her clothes carefully folded and placed on a chair in a corner of the room. Her gourd, uncorked, leaned next to it. She rubbed her eyes and looked around again.

I'm in a hospital, she realized. She closed her eyes again, thinking back to the last night of her memory. Why didn't the sand protect me, she wondered. Sighing, she went back further. Gasping, her eyes flew open. Of course! Temari was in an advanced class and had learned a sealing jutsu. She ran home, hoping to see if it would work on Gaara or Kisaike. She had tried it on Gaara first and failed, but when she tried it on Kisaike, it worked! Kisaike had proven that by cutting her finger on Temari's kunai.

Is it still sealed? Kisaike saw a kunai on the table next to her bed and grabbed it, pausing for only a second to wonder what a kunai was doing on the table in a hospital. Slowly, she lowered the point of the kunai to the back of her hand. Sand, familiar-scented sand, fountained up from the gourd and rushed to her, stopping the kunai before the point made contact. She sighed in relief, ordered the sand back to the gourd, and lay back. Just as she closed her eyes again, the rest of that terrible night flooded back. She sat bolt upright, breathing heavily.

Her mind began to race and she stood. She went over to the corner, got dressed and strapped on her gourd, and turned to leave the room. Then, almost as an afterthought, she turned and grabbed the kunai again. It might come in handy, she told herself.

She turned back and opened the door, looking both ways down the corridor. The coast was clear. She slipped out and, trying to use everything that she had learned in class about stealth and secrecy, moved out into the corridor and to the right, looking for an exit, any exit. Clutching the choker Gaara gave her in one hand, the kunai in the other, she moved as quickly and quietly as she could. She didn't know where she was, and all she wanted right now was to get out, go home, tell Gaara that she still loved him, and kill her father, not necessarily in that order.

"Where are you going?" A soft, kind male voice spoke behind her. Kisaike turned and set a protective ring of floating, swirling sand around her. She was facing a man who looked to be about 20, with shaggy, spiked brown hair and honey colored eyes. He was wearing a hitae-ate with a five-pointed star inside of a circle. He saw the ring of sand around her and the kunai she wielded and smiled. "You won't need those here. I promise you." He scratched his head and looked at her. "I'm Kikai. What's your name?"

Kisaike lowered the kunai, but not the sand. "Kisaike."

"Kisaike. That's a nice name." He grinned at her again. "Why do you have that sand floating around you?"

"Just in case." Kisaike called the sand back to her gourd and stood facing Kikai, absently playing with her choker. "My sand isn't as fast as my twin's."

"Gaara?" Kikai asked. Kisaike's head snapped up and sand started to creep out the gourd and towards him.

"How do you know that name?" she growled.

Kikai held up his hands, and eyed the sand. "I was the one who carried you here. My squad found you and killed your kidnapper."

Kisaike called the sand off, but kept it where it fell. "That doesn't tell me how you know that name."

"When the Sound nin told you that your father was telling your twin that you'd run away, you murmured it," Kikai said simply.

Kisaike nodded. "I remember now." She looked down sadly, then back up at him. "Can you take me home? Gaara-nii-san is probably really worried and angry right now."

Kikai looked a bit uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, no. Our leader, Sebraya, won't allow it. She's afraid your father might attempt to kill you." He looked into her aquamarine eyes. "I'm sorry."

Kisaike shrugged and nodded. "Probably. But it wouldn't be the first time. Nor do I think it will be the last if he finds out I'm still alive and not working for his little 'alliance'. Nothing new there."

Kikai looked at her, eyes wide. "How can you be so calm about that?"

She looked him directly in the eyes. "I've been living with it for eight years. He started when I was first born. He tried to leave me in the desert to die. The assassination attempts weren't just on Gaara."

Kikai shook his head.

Suddenly, her attitude took a turn. She looked at him with sad eyes. "But...what am I supposed to do now?" She slumped onto a bench and buried her face in her hands.

Kikai sat next to her. "Hey, I was sent to see if you'd woken up yet. Sebraya wants to talk to you. Since you're awake, do you want to go now?"

"Ok." She stood, black-rimmed eyes subdued. Kikai glanced at her.

"That's something I've been meaning to ask you. Why are there circles around your eyes?"

Kisaike stared straight ahead as they left the hospital. "I haven't actually slept since I was about two years old."

His mouth dropped open. "What?! Why?! How?!"

"Gaara is the vessel for the tanuki demon Shuukaku. If he goes to sleep, Shuukaku takes over, so, to protect me and my big brother and sister, he learned how to get by without sleeping. He does a waking meditation that revitalizes everything just like sleep does. I learned it so that he wouldn't have to be alone. Before I was kidnapped, we meditated together during the afternoon after school, and sat on our roof, talking, looking at the moon at night." Kisaike started to play with her choker again. "If I didn't stay awake, he'd be all alone, and I never wanted that."

Kikai said nothing, just turned his head forward and started straight ahead, a serious look on his face. Kisaike dropped back a little, worried.

Uh-oh. I shouldn't have said anything about Shuukaku. What if they try to kill Gaara? What if they think that I may have it too? Her mind raced.

Kikai stopped and looked back at her. She took a couple of steps back, ready to run if anything happened. "What's wrong?" he asked, startled.

"You...Do you want to kill me and Gaara just like everyone else?" She looked down. "Do you hate me too?"

He looked at her for a second, then burst out laughing, causing her to look at him like he was crazy. He noticed and got a hold of himself. "No, I don't hate you. Why would you think that?"

"Everyone did. That's why I look like I do, exactly like he does, right down to the 'ai' tattoo. People were trying to hurt Gaara. With two Gaara's, they had less of a chance of getting the right one. They just started to hate us both. Why should you be any different?" She locked eyes with him.

Kikai knelt down in front of Kisaike. "I am. In fact, I think you are the bravest, most loyal and most loving person I've ever met." He placed his hand on her shoulders, looking into her aquamarine eyes. "Don't ever change that."

A shy smile crept over her face. He returned it with a grin of his own.

"Now, let's go see what Sebraya-sama wants to talk to you about, ok?" He ruffled her soft, short, blood-colored locks. She nodded and they set out again.

When they reached the office of the leader of the village, Kisaike just stared. A vine-woven staircase spiraled up a large tree, disappearing into the branches overhead. Carved into the tree was the symbol on Kikai's hitae-ate, the five-pointed star inside a circle. Kikai started up the staircase, Kisaike following behind silently.

"The rest of my squad should be here too, so you'll get to meet them," Kikai said, looking at her. Seeing the look on her face, he cocked his head in confusion. "What? You're looking around like a genin on her first trip outside the country."

She turned her curious eyes to him. "How...?" The words she wanted seemed to elude her. She tried again, but no luck.

Kikai laughed. "I think I know what you're trying to ask. You know how different villages have different abilities, right?" She nodded. "Ok, well, our ability is to control the forces of Nature. You see the symbol on my hitae?" Another nod. "Well, each of the points represents something. The four lower points represent fire, earth, air and water, the four main forces of Nature. The top point represents spirit, which reminds us that we are who we are. The circle surrounds all, reminding us that we live in the same world as all the others." He gestured to his hitae-ate band. "Each shinobi chooses one element out of the nine to be specialized in. You learn the others, but the one you choose, you learn all the tweaks for. The color of the band represents each element. Also, when you use the element, your eyes change that color as well. The bands were made to reflect this. The nine are:

Sand: Tan, and yes, I think you'll be very good at this one

Water: Dark blue

Lightning: Purple

Fire: Red

Wind: Yellow

Rock: Grey

Earth: Green

Star: Silver

Ice: Light blue

"When you choose a specialty, you are called a Gaean. I'm a Fire Gaean, because my specialty is fire.

"Also, we have a village technique that only three people in the history of the village have ever performed. It's called Gaea's Rage. It's the most powerful technique. When you use this one, your eyes turn pure white, and when you successfully perform it, no matter where you are, Sebraya knows. And when you get back, you are presented with the white hitae-ate band in a village wide ceremony. It's a really big deal."

Kisaike looked at him. "So you were the one that killed the kidnapper."

Kikai looked uncomfortable again. "Unfortunately, yes. I don't like killing people. I'm actually studying to be a medic nin."

She smiled at him. "I think you'll make a great medic nin. But you won't ever have to treat me." She took her kunai and shoved it toward her hand. Kikai moved to stop her, but halted dead in his tracks as sand fountained up from her skin. "Unless someone, like my sister, seals the sand, it always protects me." She held up the finger that she'd cut with Temari's kunai. "My sister, Temari, sealed my sand. We knew because I cut my finger." She stuck the finger, which had split again, in her mouth.

Kikai shook his head. "That's how he managed to knock you out then." Kisaike nodded. "Let me see your finger."

Curious, Kisaike held it out. Kikai placed a finger above hers and concentrated. She watched in amazement as his finger began to glow blue. She looked at her finger and gaped. The wound was closing! A few seconds later, the wound was gone. His finger stopped glowing and he smiled at her.

"Better?"

She nodded.

"Good, because we're here."

She looked around in awe. Everything, walls, doors, even desks and chairs were all made out of vines. There were people sitting, waiting, playing Go on a board made of vines with wooden pieces. She stood there for a moment, taking it all in.

Two people stood up as they walked in. One was a man about three inches taller than Kikai, with deep-blue hair to his waist, neatly braided, and eyes to match. The other was a woman with shoulder length black hair in stubby pigtails high on her head, baby blue eyes and a bright smile. They both looked about Kikai's age. They looked at Kisaike.

"So, is this our guest of honor? Good to see you're up. I'm Amako." The woman giggled. "What's your name?"

Kisaike, suddenly shy, hid behind Kikai.

The other man smacked Amako's arm gently. "Awww, Amako, you scared her." He laughed, then turned to Kisaike. "I'm Riso. Don't let Ama-chan scare you. She's a bit much, I know." He leaned closer. "It comes from being a Star Gaean."

Amako crossed her arms, silver hitae band flashing. "Big words, coming from an Ice Gaean."

Riso stood, hand on his light blue hitae band, and laughed. "True. Very true."

Kikai placed a hand on Kisaike's shoulder, as she had finally come out of hiding. "Well, this is Kisaike. It looks like we'll finally get a Sand Gaean."

Riso and Amako looked impressed.

"Wow," said Ama. "No one's ever become a Sand Gaean. They don't think it's worth it."

Kisaike's eyes flashed. "Well, I'll prove them wrong," she said, folding her arms, giving them the patented 'Gaara Glare', complete with tendrils of sand flying about her.

Everyone looked taken aback for a moment, then laughed. Kisaike laughed too, and ordered her sand back into her gourd.

"Well, it seems she does have a voice after all," Riso said, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"So, does that mean you'd like to stay with us?" A new female voice rang out. Everyone turned, and Kisaike ducked behind Riso, who covered her completely from view. The woman speaking had dark green hair to her knees tied in two braids, and soft brown eyes. She laughed when Kisaike hid from her. "It's ok. I don't mean you any harm."

Kikai ducked behind Riso. "It's ok, Kisaike. That's Sebraya."

A shock of short, blood colored hair peeked out from behind Riso's waist, followed by black-rimmed aquamarine eyes. Sebraya laughed.

"Don't be afraid. You are more than welcome to stay here. You will be trained, if you wish."

Kisaike turned her eyes to Kikai. "Really?"

He nodded. "If you want. Do you want to?"

Kisaike stepped out from behind Riso and smiled brightly.

"Hai!"

**Ryu: **There. Now everyone knows what happened to Kisaike. Don't worry, next chapter will be up soon!

**Gaara:** Yeah...right.

**Ryu:** {throws Gaara into lake}

**Etna:** If you don't want to take a swim in an iced-over lake this winter, press the little button labeled Submit Review: Go...Don't worry...it's just standard boilerplate...the lawyers insisted.


	5. Chapter 4: A Time to Smile

**DISCLAIMER: **I no own Naruto...it sucks, I know. I do own Gaeans, Riso, Amako, Kikai, and Sebraya. And Kisaike, of course.

**Etna: **Forgot her in the last disclaimer, didn't you?

**Ryu:** Oh, :P

**Gaara:** That reminds me, what else is going on? I mean, where am I?

**Ryu:** This story is pretty much from Kisaike's point of view, I suppose. I already have the next chapters more or less planned out, but I need to write them.

**Kyo:** Just write them tonight then.

**Ryu:** No can...homework... :P And in college, no less...

**Gaara:** So, I'm not floating around for a while?

**Ryu: **You're off doing whatever it is that you do for four years...until the chuunin exam.

**Gaara:** Alright, I can handle that...{starts packing bags}

**Ryu:** Where do you think you are going?

**Gaara:** {still packing} Vacation. If I'm not in the story, I'm not needed, right?

**Ryu:** You are the head muse; you will do no such thing.

**Gaara:** But, you said yourself, I'm not here. So, I won't be. {moves toward door}

**Ryu:** {grabs his collar} No you don't.

**Kyo:** {grabs Gaara from Ryu} If I have to stay here with: a crazy lady {points at Ryu}, a demon {points at Etna}, a sugar freak {points at Count D}, a computer who dances and wakes me up at ungodly times of the morning to exercise {pointing at Sumomo}, and the nutty genius kid and her even more nutty genius dog {Ed waves}, then so do you. YOU'RE the only one in this dysfunctional little group that makes actually SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Ryu, Etna, Count D, Sumomo, and Ed:** NO HE DOESN'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Chapter: 4 – A Time to Smile...**

Kisaike followed Riso as he led her through the city, trying to disappear in his shadow. She was bit worried about some of the looks she might get, even if Sebraya had reassured her that no one would know or really care. She huddled a bit closer to Riso, and looked up at him.

Kikai had to go and deal with something and Amako had training she had been planning to do, so Riso was taking her to her new home. She felt a bit guilty.

"I'm sorry, Riso-san," Kisaike said, stopping and bowing.

Riso turned, curiosity on his face. "Why are you sorry, Kisaike-chan?"

"I'm sure you had plans for the day as well, and now you are having to show me around the city and help me get settled in." She bowed a bit lower. "You don't have to help me. If there's something you'd rather do."

Riso laughed, placed a finger under her chin, and tilted her head up until her aquamarine eyes looked into his deep ocean blue ones. "Kisaike-chan, I will admit, I was supposed to go train with Ama-chan today. However," he continued at her guilty, sad look, "I asked to do this. We take care of people that we care about, right?" She nodded. "Well, I take care of my friends, and you are one of my friends."

"Are you sure this isn't troublesome?"

"Absolutely. So, let's get you to your new home, shall we?"

Kisaike smiled. "Hai!" They started walking again.

Suddenly, a ball bounced at them from the right, heading right for Kisaike. The sand protected her, and the ball fell and rolled to a stop next to her feet. She picked it up and looked in the direction it came.

"Sorry about that." A boy her own age ran up and bowed to the two of them. "I didn't mean to hit you." He smiled at Kisaike.

She looked at him with startled, happy eyes. He wasn't afraid of her! Maybe, just maybe, she could live here without people running from her in fear.

"Murasi-chan, you should be more careful. You could hurt someone," reprimanded Riso gently, with a slight hint of a grin. "Granted, it'll probably be yourself, but still..."

Murasi nodded in acceptance as Kisaike tried to hide her amusement. He took the ball that she offered, and scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed, a smile still prevalent.

"I know, Riso-san. I'm sorry."

Riso chuckled and shook his head. "Don't apologize to me. She's the one you almost hit." He nodded toward Kisaike.

Kisaike looked down at the ground, blushing slightly. "It's ok, Riso-san..."

"No, he's right." Kisaike looked up as Murasi spoke. "I could have hurt you. I am very sorry...um, I don't know your name." He looked a bit amused, but guilty at the same time.

Kisaike played with the grass with her toes. "Kisaike."

Murasi bowed. "I'm very sorry, Kisaike-san."

She blushed again. "Just Kisai."

He straightened up. "Kisai, then. I'm Murasi. Are you going to the academy?" She nodded shyly. Murasi smiled. "So am I. How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Me too! Hey, when you get settled in, do you want to come and play with us? I could introduce you around and show you the city." He blushed a bit too.

Riso bit a finger to keep from laughing. This little exchange was going to be fun to relay to the others. The only two red-heads in the city seemed to have been destined to meet, as Murasi was the first person Kisai's age that she had run into at all. To odd to be coincidence. Granted, Murasi had golden-brownish red hair, while Kisaike's was the color of freshly-spilled blood, but it was still too much for Riso. Kikai and Amako would get a kick out of this.

Kisaike's eyes went even wider. "Really? You don't mind?"

Murasi shook his head. "Whenever you're ready, come on back here. We'll wait for you."

Kisaike nodded, and Murasi ran to join the other children. Riso looked down at Kisaike.

"Looks like you've made a friend." He smiled as they watched Murasi run. "Well, let's get going. The sooner you get settled, the sooner you can meet more people." She nodded and they continued off.

Soon, they came to a building three stories tall in the shade of a large oak tree. Riso went inside and led Kisaike to the top floor.

"Alright, here we are! Room number 313." He handed Kisaike the key. She took it and looked up at him. "Go ahead. This is your apartment, not mine."

She placed the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. Walking in, she found herself in a tidy, furnished one-bedroom apartment. There was a living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and bedroom. Wandering through, Kisaike took note of the couch, coffee table, bathtub with shower, refrigerator, vanity, and even an already-made futon, ready for a nap. She turned wide aquamarine eyes to Riso. "Is this all mine?" she asked.

Riso chuckled. "Yes it is. There's plenty of food, and everything is taken care of." His eyes clouded briefly. "You're sure you'll be alright alone?"

She nodded and smiled. "Temari taught me how to cook...well, she taught me the basics, but I won't try any of her recipes. They can get kind of scary. But I know enough to get by."

He nodded, but his eyes didn't get any less worried. "Well, if you need anything, you know where I live. You can come over any time, day or night. If I'm not there, use the key I gave you. It's on the ring with your apartment key." He looked around one last time. "Well, I'll let you get settled, so you can get to your meeting. I might as well go check on Ama-chan and make sure she didn't call a meteor on someone's vegetable garden again." He waved, and left.

Kisaike wandered slowly back to the meeting place, taking in the sights of the city. She shifted her gourd absentmindedly, hoping that it wouldn't draw attention. But everyone seemed not to care. People were so nice in this village. People stopped to chat for a moment, and everyone said hello to everyone else. People even stopped and greeted her, smiling and asking her if she needed any assistance. Back in the Sand Village, people didn't really speak to one another very often, and if you were new there, you were generally on your own. She liked this new place, this...what had Kikai called it? Oh, yeah. Shizen no Kumi, the Village of Nature. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she almost didn't hear the shout.

"Kisai!"

She turned, shyly. Murasi ran up to her followed by a few others about their same age. For the first time, Kisaike felt a bit uncomfortable with her gourd. She shifted it absentmindedly again.

"Guys, this is Kisaike." The four other kids smiled brightly, not even really seeming to notice her gourd. "Kisai, this is:

"Jisukyu." A girl with hair about the same length as hers and chocolate brown eyes waved.

"Chikitin." A black haired boy with hazel-gold eyes nodded.

"Tomiki." Shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes giggled.

"And Senkito." A boy with chalk-white hair to his waist, in a braid like Riso's, and grey eyes took her hand and bowed over it. Kisaike blushed.

"Senkito is extremely proper, but only when he wants to impress someone." Murasi rolled his bright green eyes and gestured. Senkito had turned a bit away from the rest of the group, but everyone could see that he was blushing fiercely. Murasi shook his shaggy red hair, and smiled at her. Kisaike couldn't help but giggle very softly.

"So, Kisai, wasn't it?" The girl named Jisukyu bounced up and smiled. Kisaike nodded. "We were all just going to get something to drink and sit by the river. We're deciding what to specialize in. Wanna come with us?"

"I...I'd like to, but I have no money." Kisaike looked down at the ground. "I have nothing but what I'm wearing."

"That's ok. I'll treat you." A soft voice made everyone look. Murasi started to chuckle as Senkito turned, still blushing like mad.

"Are you sure, Senkito-san? I don't want to be a burden." Kisaike said quietly.

Senkito's head snapped up. "You wouldn't be a burden. I insist." He smiled shyly and looked back down again.

Kisaike nodded. "Alright. I'd like that."

"Alright! Let's get going." Jisuku jumped up in the air and led the way.

Within 20 minutes, they had gotten their drinks, and a snack, and sat on a soft grassy patch near the river.

"So, what're people thinking about specializing in?" Jisukyu asked.

Murasi turned to Kisaike. "Do you know what the nine specialties are?"

Kisai nodded. "Sand, Lightning, Star, Wind, Water, Ice, Fire, Rock and Earth. Kikai told me about them."

"Good." Murasi turned to the others. "Well, let's go around. I'll start. I'm thinking either Fire or Earth. Fire because it's useful in so many ways, but Earth is a bit better just because, well, everywhere you go, there's earth."

Jisukyu nodded. "That's true, but I'm not very good at that kind of thing. I'm deciding between Water or Rock. I can't decide. It's really difficult."

"I'm thinking Wind. I love the wind, and being able to control it would be perfect for me. That's what I'm going for. Well, that or Fire." Tomiki giggled. "I suppose I can't decide either."

"I don't think anyone will be decided right now. I'm thinking Ice or Star. Either will work for me." Chikitin shrugged.

"What about you, Senkito-san?" asked Kisai softly.

"Lightning." There was no hesitation or second guessing. His answer was immediate.

"Yeah, that'll change, I'm sure. What about you, Kisai? I mean, I know you just got here, but the deciding is in a week." Murasi smiled.

"Oh, mine's easy. Sand."

Luckily, Kisai had paid attention when Riso, Kikai and Amako were going on about Sand Gaeans, so she was prepared for the reaction she got. At first, everyone just stared. Tomiki started the giggling. Everyone, with the exception of Senkito, joined in.

"What's the point?" Tomiki, still giggling, asked. "There's nothing that you can do with sand that you couldn't do better with something else."

"Plus," Murasi added, "There's no tweaking you can do with it. You learn the three basics and that's it."

Kisai just crossed her arms and smiled. "Really?"

The others eyed her suspiciously.

"Here, I'll show you what an affinity for sand can get you. Murasi, you and Tomiki go behind that big tree. Decide on a number and hold it up behind the tree so I can't see it."

The two of them agreed and hurried behind the tree. A few seconds later, a voice cried out, "Ready!"

Kisai smiled, and performed a series of hand seals. She placed two fingers of her left hand over her left eye and placed her right hand face-up. Sand flowed out of the gourd and formed an eye in her palm. The eye began to move towards the tree and behind it, above where Kisai assumed her friends' heads would be. Murasi was holding up eight fingers.

"Your number is eight, and Murasi is holding it up," Kisai shouted. Seeing the bewildered look on their faces, she laughed. "Look up."

They looked up and gaped. That caused Kisai to laugh harder and break the jutsu. The sand eye deformed and regular sand flowed back to her gourd, followed by a stupefied Murasi and Tomiki.

"How...how do you know how to do that already?" asked Chikitin.

Kisai opened her mouth, then hesitated. What would they do if they knew the truth? Would they hate her? Then, she caught sight of Senkito's eyes. It was as if he could read her thoughts. His eyes shone with compassion and curiosity. She steeled her eyes, and told them. She told them everything, starting from her birth up to the present day. When she finally finished, she noticed that they were looking at her with odd expressions. A voice rang out in the air. Tomiki looked towards the voice, and turned back.

"Sorry guys, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow at school!" She waved and ran off. Jisukyu stood as well.

"I'd better be going too."

Slowly, the five children wandered off, leaving Kisai alone. She stood and moved upriver a bit until she found a small waterfall. She laid on her back on one of the rocks that surrounded it and dipped her fingers into the water. Sitting up, she began to sing one of the songs she learned from the caravan. After finishing the song, she stood and began to wander towards the city. She was startled when a voice called out from behind her.

"Kisai-kun...er...san!" She turned and stood facing Senkito. He was blushing. "Would you like to come to my house for dinner? I know it's your first night here, and you probably haven't gotten to get food yet, so...I thought that...maybe..." He blushed deeper.

"Won't your parents be upset? I mean, after what I just told you?"

Senkito's head snapped up. "Kisai-kun," he said, not correcting himself this time, "I'm going to tell you something. I think that you are very brave. No one could really go through what you have and come out as well. The others aren't mad at you and don't hate you. They're just surprised that you can live without those you care the most about." He grabbed her hand. "But, don't worry. Come on! My parents will love to have you over." He started to move towards the city, his hand tangled with Kisai's. She smiled and moved next to him, and they went off.

"Kisai-chan! Come sit by us!" Kisai looked up at the seats in the amphitheatre-like clearing where classes were held and saw, waving frantically at her, Jisukyu, Chikitin, Murasi, and Tomiki. Senkito hadn't arrived yet, apparently. She waved back and moved up towards them, fighting with her gourd. She hadn't gotten a chance to fix one of the straps on her gourd belt, and it was unbalancing the whole thing. Finally, she managed to get it up the hill and sat in the row right behind her friends, as things were four to a row. Jisukyu turned to her.

"Sorry about running off like that last night. We really don't hate you. Promise." She smiled a bright smile. Kisaike returned it. Suddenly, Kisai felt warmth next to her and a soft pressure in her hand. Looking down, she saw a rolled up scroll, placed in her hand by Senkito, who was sitting, blushing, next to her. She unrolled it and gasped.

It was a beautifully drawn picture of her sitting on the rock by the waterfall. She had her legs drawn up, and was looking up at the dimming sky. A butterfly flittered in the background and a breeze played with her hair and clothes. It seemed that the picture was almost alive. Surrounding the picture, written in Senkito's sweet handwriting, were the words to the song she had sung the night before. He'd been watching her the whole time! Kisaike looked up at him. His grey eyes looked directly into her aquamarine ones, and he was blushing. Kisaike smiled shyly, and he returned it. After a moment, their attention was turned toward the front of the clearing as the class had begun. Partway through the opening speech, Kisai noticed that Senkito's hand was on the ground. Gathering her courage, she shyly reached out and took it in her own. He started, and looked down, then at her. She was blushing. Then, he smiled and squeezed her hand. She smiled and gripped back.

"Mikoti Senkito! Hasurabi Murasi! Sabaku no Kisaike!" Riso stood before the class and called out the names in each cell. Senkito, Murasi and Kisai had been placed together. Riso lifted an eyebrow. A Fire Gaean, a Lightning Gaean, and the village's first Sand Gaean all on the same team. Riso grinned. This was his team after all. He couldn't wait to see how well they worked together.

"Sabaku no Kisaike! Please step forward."

A knee-length blood colored braid was swept behind her as she stood. Three years had made her taller and given her longer hair, but the eyes remained the same, Sebraya noted from her point at the center of the stadium. 11 years old, and she still refused to sleep. She kept up with her waking meditations, and was always willing to take up watch at night. It was due to her help and her experience that she was called up. Kisaike stopped in front of Sebraya, dark-rimmed aquamarine eyes bright.

"As from this day forward, every citizen in this village shall know that Sabaku no Kisaike, affectionately known to most as Kisai, has graduated to Chuunin level!" Sebraya smiled as the crowd cheered. Kisai bowed and received her new hitae. There, in front of everyone, just as so many had done before her, she took her old Genin hitae and replaced it with her Chuunin hitae. She then took her place in line with Senkito and a few others so far. None of the rest of the group had made Chuunin level yet, but that didn't stop them from cheering like mad from the stands. Kisaike heard their shouts of joy and encouragement and locked eyes with Senkito. She couldn't help herself. She smiled and realized that she finally belonged, somewhere where no one would try to kill her, where no one would run. A tear ran down her cheek, and she touched the choker.

I wish I could have saved Gaara, too, she thought.

**Ryu:** Well, there you are. Another chapter in the life of Kisaike.

**Gaara: **People are wondering where I am. When am I coming back into this?

**Ryu:** Not this next chapter. The one after that. Chuunin exam chapter. {grins sweetly}

**Gaara:** That look scares me.

**Ryu:** It should.

**Etna:** {laughs like crazy} She's learning quick. This is going to be fun.


	6. Chapter 5: An Unexpected Mission

**Disclaimer:** I no own Naruto. I DO, however, own Gaeans, Riso, Sebraya, Murasi, Senkito, Kisaike, etc. You get the point.

**Gaara: **It's about time you finally decided to work on this again. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about this.

**Ryu:** No, I've just been working on original fiction. (No title yet) However, people have been asking about the continuation of this, so...

**Kyo:** So you decided to get back one of the few things I can NOT help you with as of yet. Cool. Break time for me.

**Ryu:** Enough talk! If I don't start writing, I'll never get this done.

**Chapter 5: The Unexpected Mission**

****

"Kisai! Kisai, where are you?" Murasi's voice was calm, but his mind was filled with worry. He, Kisai and Senkito had split off to search out the area, and were told to meet back up at the rocks by the waterfall in a half hour. It had been nearly an hour and a half. Kisai was never late, not without very good reason. Now, Murasi and Senkito were flying through the treetops, scanning the ground below and the trees around them for Kisai's chakra. "Damn it, Kisai. You better not have gotten yourself killed."

Suddenly, Senkito landed on a tree branch and stopped. Murasi, not very good at the flash stops, nearly barreled headfirst into a tree trunk. He turned around and jumped to the branch Senkito was kneeling on.

"Senkito, do me a favor. Warn me before you attempt to kill me like that again."

Senkito just raised a finger to his lips. His eyes were roving slowly about the trees and ground. He leaned very close to Murasi. "Kisai is close. Her chakra is very weak, so she may be hurt really badly. But we have other things to worry about. Whoever Kisai ran into is following us." His eyes continued to roam. "There's three of them. Decent sized. Probably Sound Nins, if I had to make a guess, considering how close we are to their borders."

Murasi nodded. He began to make signs at Senkito. As children, the five friends had made up a secret language using their hands, so they could talk to each other without getting into trouble. When they had met Kisai, they taught it to her. None of them had ever realized how useful it could be on missions where the Sound Nin were involved.

-Now what? Do we just leave her there and fight them, or grab her and leave? We completed the mission. This was not a scheduled fight.- Murasi signed.

-We have no choice but to fight them.- Senkito signed back. –I can't exactly pinpoint where Kisai is. If we're wrong...-

Murasi nodded. In unison, the two 12 year olds turned to face their pursuers. Three men stepped out onto various branches around the boys. Each of them was wearing the Sound hitae.

"Geez, it's just some kids. Just like that brat I sent the 'special' gift. I don't think that possessed sand could save her from that." He laughed. "Getting around the sand wasn't as difficult as I expected, but even with it, she was hardly Chuunin level."

Murasi felt Senkito tense next to him, and then realized that he had tensed up as well. So they had managed to get past Kisai's sand? Well, let's see if they could deal with what happens when you piss off fire and lightning.

Murasi's eyes turned red, while Senkito's changed to a deep purple. Suddenly, the sky clouded over and the bright afternoon became dim. Thunder rumbled. The Sound nins looked from the stormy sky to the two boys. A wind kicked up, but no rain was forthcoming. Murasi looked up at the Sound nin in front of him and smiled. For the first time since meeting them, the nin looked slightly worried. Murasi raised a hand up, two fingers extended. His other hand was facing down in the same fashion. The Sound nin began to form seals, but it was too late. Murasi wind-milled his arms down and in front of him, and opened his hands.

"Flame's Justice!"

From his hands, a gout of flame poured toward the Sound nin. He stopped his seals and dodged, but couldn't get completely out of the way. The fire hit his left leg, burning it black almost instantly. The Sound nin cried out.

Meanwhile, Senkito turned to face another of the nins. He placed his hands, palms together, in front of his chest, and made loops with his ring fingers and thumbs. He intertwined the loops and thrust his hands at the sky. The Sound nin had seen what happened to his compatriot, and dove for the next tree to be out of the fire's path. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"Sky Spear!"

What looked to be a large, purple tinted spear made of lightning stabbed from the stormy sky. It hit the tree where the Sound nin had taken refuge, and a half-second later, Senkito heard him scream. He smiled ruefully. His tweak of Sky Spear had proved to be a success. Instead of hitting enemies straight on with it, he had made it so that it would electrify anything it hit. It was almost the same as getting hit, but the voltage, while less, was worse, as the electrification continued for about two minutes. A few seconds later, the Sound nin fell to the ground, incapacitated for the moment. Senkito looked down to verify that the nin wasn't going anywhere fast, when he suddenly felt three sharp pains in his back.

"Agh!" He felt around to the one in his lower back and felt the edge of a kunai. He pulled it out and examined it closely. Not poisoned. Good. He looked over to Murasi and saw what he didn't want to.

Murasi was kneeling, gasping for breath as the uninjured Sound nin stood above him. Blood leaked down his face from his ears.

We're in too far, Senkito thought. There's no way we can deal with this alone. They're at least Jounin level.

A sound behind him made him turn. The electrified Sound nin had climbed back up the tree and was looking at Senkito with a mixed look of pain and rage. Senkito pulled the two kunai out of his back and threw them. Neither hit, as the Sound nin just sent a sound blast to knock them off course. He countered with six, amplified with sound. All hit their marks, and Senkito nearly fell from the tree. He slid around the trunk, pulling four of the kunai out, and sent a spray. At least one hit, but he heard the others clunk into trees or fall to the forest floor. He was bleeding heavily now.

This is not good, he thought, pulling out the other two kunai and sending them sailing at him. He blocked them easily and began to advance. Senkito moved to stand back to back with Murasi. Definitely not good. The wind died down for a moment, just enough that a soft voice was heard.

"Blade Storm," the voice said, and suddenly the wind picked up more ferociously than ever. Tiny blades, seemingly made of sand, flew through the air, slicing into the Sound nins and disappearing so fast they had no idea what to do.

"What the...What is this?"

"Who cares? Let's just get out of here!"

The three Sound nins retreated, getting more sliced up by the minute.

Senkito and Murasi turned toward the voice, ready for anything. Leaning against the trunk of a tree, breathing heavily, pupil-less tan eyes reforming into aquamarine ones, was a badly beaten and bleeding Kisai. The boys started moving towards her. She looked up at them for a second, then her eyes glazed over and she fell.

Senkito jumped, grabbing her, and used his momentum to leap from trunk to trunk to the ground. He laid her down gently, trying not to agitate her wounds. Murasi landed right next to him.

"Damn! What the hell did he do to her? He shouldn't have been able to get past the sand!" Murasi shook with anger.

Senkito placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "We don't have time to worry about it. We need to get her, and us, back. Maybe Kikai can tell us more about what happened."

Murasi nodded and helped place Kisai on Senkito's back. When she was secure, the two of them made haste for Shizen.

When they finally got back, Senkito was feeling faint from blood loss, Murasi could hardly stay on his feet, as his eardrums had been broken, and Kisai wouldn't wake up. The watch, including Riso, hurried over as Senkito fell into unconsciousness, dropping Kisai. Riso turned to Murasi.

"What happened?!" Riso asked, picking up Kisai. One of the watch grabbed Senkito.

"We...were ambushed by Sound Jounin, three, on the way home from the mission," Murasi answered, trying desperately to keep his feet. One of the watch held him steady. "We stopped for lunch, and as always, scouted the place out. Kisai didn't come back. While we were looking for her, three Sound nin attacked us. We didn't find her, but they said they had done something 'special' to her, something her sand couldn't save her from. Then, Senkito got hit and one shattered my ears. Kisai drove them away, and then collapsed. Senkito's been carrying her all this way. We could get her to wake up for a little, but now she won't wake up at all! She won't even move. But, the mission is accomplished." He seemed to try to smile, but then, he too collapsed.

"Damn those Sound! You, get to the hospital and get them ready. You, find Kikai. You two, follow me." Riso and the two other Gaeans carried Kisai, Senkito and Murasi to the hospital as fast as their injuries would allow. Kikai was waiting for them.

"What happened?!" he exclaimed on seeing the group.

Riso shook his head. "I'll explain later. We don't have much time. Kisai won't wake up, Senkito's lost a lot of blood, and Murasi's eardrums are shattered. I don't think that's it, but that's what I know. Fix it!"

Kikai looked serious. "I'll do what I can."

Kisaike's eyes blinked open and she looked around.

I'm in a hospital room, she thought. Now, why does this look familiar?

She remembered and smiled. This was the exact room that she had been in when she first came here. A few seconds later, she was aware of warmth on her hands and near her legs. Sitting up a little, she couldn't help but blush. Senkito and Murasi, each holding one of her hands, were asleep, their heads on their arms, their arms on the edges of her bed. Looking a bit further, Chikitin was asleep in the same position next to Senkito, and Tomiki next to Murasi. Jisukyu was in the same position at the foot of the bed. She turned to the rest of the room. Riso and Amako were asleep propped in chairs against one wall. The door opened and Kikai walked in with Sebraya. Kisai looked down, extremely embarrassed about her injuries. Sebraya just smiled.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" said Kikai, and everyone in the room stirred. There was a general commotion as everyone in the room tried to talk and move at the same time. Sebraya clapped her hands.

"Alright! I want Riso, Senkito, and Murasi to stay. You too, Kikai. Everyone else, please leave for a few minutes. I would like to have a word with them." Everyone else slowly but surely shuffled out, passing back various scared and worried looks. After the door was shut, Sebraya sighed and laughed. "Well, that's better."

Kisai's voice was soft and apparently directed to her lap. "I'm sorry. I endangered everyone. I...I'm not skilled enough to even be a...a novice!" Tears fell, but she tried hard to make them go away.

Sebraya looked at her for a minute, then smiled gently. "No, Kisai. You are worthy of Chuunin. You proved that. You kept fighting when you're squad was in danger. Besides, Chuunin or not, you are not good enough to take on three Sound Jounins. Even Riso and his cell have trouble with that. The fact that you weren't killed is proof enough." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Now, I have something very important to tell you, Kisaike." Kisai looked up into Sebraya's face at the mention of her full name. "Your brother is leaving the Sand village to take the Chuunin selection exam in Konoha. In fact, both your brothers and your sister are going." Kisai's eyes lit up. "However, there are rumors that the Sound is going to attempt an attack on Konoha. I want you, just you, to go to Konoha and observe all parts of the selection exam."

The objections started from four sides, but Sebraya had seen this coming. Senkito, Murasi, Riso and Kikai were all talking to her at once. She held up her hands and waited until things calmed down before she spoke again.

"The reason, gentlemen, is that none of the large villages know that we even exist. Sending a cell in wouldn't be that great of an idea. Plus, since Kisai's brother will be there, it won't seem too odd that she's there." She turned to Kisai. "Your duty will be to stop whatever it is that they are attempting to do if no one else can. Aid Konoha in whatever way possible if the rumors are true. Also, your brother is the vessel for Shuukaku, right?"

"Yes."

"If the Sound and Sand have an alliance, which it seems they were working on when you were kidnapped, they might have decided to use your brother. You have heard what's been happening with him, right?"

Kisai looked down again. "Yes."

"Then, knowing the dangers posed for you and knowing that you'll be alone, will you accept this mission?"

Kisai looked up, her aquamarine eyes as hard as steel. "I accept."

**Ryu: **There! Another chapter done! Happiness!

**Gaara:** That wasn't so bad, was it?

**Ryu:** Not really, but then again...who knows!

**Next Chapter: Watching from Afar**


	7. Chapter 6: Watching from Afar

**Disclaimer:** I no own Naruto. I DO, however, own Gaeans, Riso, Sebraya, Murasi, Senkito, Kisaike, etc. You get the point.

**Gaara: **So, what's going on today? Finally going to get to the Chuunin exam?

**Ryu: **That's my intent. I'm not sure how good it's gonna be. I'm just writing what I see.

**Gaara:** Trust me, they don't care. Most of them are anxiously waiting to see what happens with me.

**Ryu:** Yeah. I know. They'll find out.

**Kyo:** So, you don't need me, right?

**Ryu:** I never said that.

**Sumomo:** Dances around with a tambourine

**Count D:** Don't worry about him. He'll show up when he's needed. Hands Ryu a plate Cheesecake with strawberries?

**Ryu:** Oooooooooooh…. Happiness….

**Chapter 6: Watching from Afar**

The morning couldn't come fast enough for Kisaike. She sat on the roof of her apartment building, staring at the moon, memories flooding her head. She relived the night that she turned herself into an exact clone of her brother, the next birthday when Temari gave them identical gourds, the same birthday when Gaara gave her the choker, sitting night after night like this, looking up at the moon and talking with Gaara. Moonlight glinted off the silent tears that rolled down her face as she sat, clutching her choker. I miss you Gaara, she thought. I wonder if he's staring at the same moon too.

In the morning, Kisaike went over her packed bag one last time, making sure she had forgotten nothing. Sebraya had determined that the best thing to do would be for Kisaike to go, gourd-less, to Konoha, posing as a chuunin from a newly developed village traveling to see the exams.

"Whatever happens at Konoha, people will know for a fact that we exist after this," Sebraya had said. "We can no longer hide ourselves. I accept that. It will come in handy later on, if the Sound becomes any more of a problem." She turned to Kisaike. "So, when you arrive, go to the Hokage and introduce yourself. You are not just there for the exams, you will also be my liaison in an alliance with Konoha. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sebraya."

"Good."

Murasi came up to her right before she left.

"Hey, Kisai. I have something for you." He held out a box. "I was waiting for your birthday, but I thought this would be a better time."

Kisaike carefully unwrapped it and gasped. In the box were four little gourds and a slightly larger one.

"I already talked to Sebraya about you taking them with you on this mission, and she said yes."

"Thank you Murasi." Kisaike smiled. He helped her put a gourd on each wrist, one on each ankle, and the slightly larger one around her waist. The small gourds reached half-way up her forearms and calves, and the larger gourd looked almost like a water gourd. Kisai filled each of the gourds with sand from her gourd, and created a cork from sand, just like her regular gourd had. She then fastened her hitae around her neck and turned to the group that had come to see her off. "Well? Do I look like a chuunin tourist?"

Everyone smiled. She gave everyone a hug and turned toward the gates. When she reached them, she turned and waved. Everyone waved back. She then turned and took off through the trees.

After a full day and night's travel, Kisai reached the village of Konoha. She stood outside the gates for a moment, just taking in the sight of the large village. After a moment, she walked toward the gate.

A guard approached her. "Good morning, miss. May I ask your business here in Konoha?"

Kisaike bowed. "I'm here as a surprise. My siblings are taking the chuunin exams, and I traveled here to see them and cheer them on."

The guard smiled. "Ahh, I see. And what village are they, and you, I presume, hailing from?"

"They come from the Village of Sand. I, however, hail from the small Shizen no Kumi." She presented her papers. "I am assistant to the leader, and was sent here to observe every part of the chuunin exam and get information on entering and the 'grading' of said exam."

The guard nodded and smiled. "It's always good to see a new village looking to come out and show themselves at least a bit." He glanced at his roster. "By the way, your siblings checked in this morning. Kankurou, Temari, and Gaara of the Sand." Kisaike smiled and nodded. "Well, the first exam takes place tomorrow. Please enjoy your stay."

Kisaike smiled again and walked into Konoha. She traveled the streets, lost in the size and beauty of the place when she heard voices around a corner. She was about to look and maybe introduce herself when she heard a familiar voice.

"You little shrimp. I hate shrimp."

Kankurou! Performing a few quick hand seals, Kisaike covered herright eye with two fingers of herleft hand and opened the third eye in her right. After it opened, she sent it around the corner and out of sight. She wasn't too happy with what she saw. Kankurou was holding a little boy up by his scarf while Temari proclaimed to have nothing to do with the situation. Two other children were pleading with him to let the boy go. Two ninjas, a guy and a girl about Kisai's own age, were also arguing with Kankurou. Just when it looked like Kankurou was going to smash the boy's skull in, a stone hit his hand hard enough that he dropped the kid. Everyone looked up in a tree, where another ninja about Kisaike's age stood. He spoke to Kankurou and Kankurou answered. Suddenly, a familiar chakra appeared, and Gaara appeared hanging upside down from the branch on the other side of the tree from the other ninja.

Kisaike fought her urge to go out and embrace Gaara. He still looks the same, she thought. Actually, no, he doesn't, she corrected herself. He looks almost evil. That's not the same Gaara…

Suddenly, Gaara looked right up at the third eye. Kisaike broke it off hurriedly, but she knew he'd already seen. She wondered if he suspected. She took off in a different direction.

After running through the city for about 30 seconds, she turned a corner, ran headlong into someone, and went flying backwards. From the sound of it, the other person had fallen as well. She picked herself up and turned to face the person she had run into. To her surprise, it was the blonde ninja she had seen trying to fight Kankurou for the kid. The other two ninjas weren't with him.

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to hit you." Kisaike bowed.

"It's ok." The other replied. "Hey, you look a lot like the guy with the gourd."

Kisaike's eyes went wide. "Please don't say anything. Can you take me to the Hokage's office? I promise to tell you everything after I see him."

The boy nodded. "Follow me. I'm Naruto, by the way." He held out his hand.

Kisaike shook it. "I'm Kisaike."

"Hey, are you a ninja too?" he asked as they moved through the streets. He looked at the hitae around her neck.

"Yes. I'm a chuunin, but unlike most places, we don't use vests. We have different hitae for genin, chuunin and jounin." Kisaike said.

"That's cool. How come your hitae is tan?"

Kisaike giggled and explained the different colored hitae and how the colors came into play with the moves. Naruto paid attention to everything she said and smiled a lot. Kisaike liked talking with him.

When they arrived at the Hokage's office, Naruto walked in first.

"Hey, this is Kisaike. She's a chuunin from…" He leaned over to her. "Where is it again?"

"Shizen no Kumi."

"That's right! Shizen no Kumi. She's here to see the Hokage."

The man at the desk looked about to say something when a strong voice spoke over him.

"Welcome to Konoha, Kisaike. Please come in." Kisaike turned towards the sound of the voice. Standing in the doorway, pipe in hand, was the Hokage. Naruto bounced over to him.

"Hey, hey, are you going to watch the exams?"

The Hokage smiled. "Yes, Naruto, I will be. You'd better go home and get ready."

"Good." He turned to Kisaike. "I'll see you later."

"Bye Naruto. Thank you for your help."

Naruto left, and the Hokage ushered Kisaike into his office.

"Now, Kisaike, what can I do for you?"

Kisaike handed him a sealed scroll. "I represent Sebraya, leader of Shizen no Kumi. We are the Gaeans. We have heard rumors about the Sand and Sound, and Sebraya chose me to come and aid you."

The Hokage read the scroll and nodded. "But why would Sebraya-sama chose you? Surely someone more experienced than you would have been a better choice?"

Kisaike shook her head. "No. There was no one better. You see, my siblings are here, in the chuunin exam. My brother, Gaara, is my twin. He is the vessel for Shuukaku, the tanuki demon." The Hokage just nodded. "I know him and his abilities. I have quite a few of them myself. I know the most about the Sand." She stood, waiting for the judgment.

The Hokage smiled. "We will accept your alliance, and your aid. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You can perform Henge no jutsu, right?" Kisai nodded. "Then, tomorrow you may stand in as an proctor for the first exam. You also have permission to enter the grounds for the second exam. Do what you can to help." He stood and looked out the window. "Well, I'm to meet with some of the genins who will be participating in the exams for dinner. Would you care to join us? Then, we can find you someplace to stay."

Kisaike smiled. "I would love to."

The first person that Kisaike saw when she entered the restaurant with the Hokage that night was Naruto. He bounced over and insisted that she sit with him and his group. He peppered her with questions about her village and what kind of jutsu she knew. Kisaike talked easily, as she and Sebraya had already gone over what could be spoken of for a little while. Soon, all the genins, and even some of the instructors, were asking questions and nodding. Kisaike saw the Hokage watching her out of the corner of her eye. He was smiling and when she glanced at him, smiled wider and laughed at the story she was telling. She couldn't help but smile also.

By the end of the night, Kisai had met most of the Konoha genins, and their instructors, and had a place to stay for the week that the exams were to take place. She prepared herself for the next day, the first exam.

**Ryu:** sighs Another chapter done. Just wait. Next chapter it gets better.


	8. Chapter 7: The First Test

**Disclaimer: **Alright, once and for all, repeat after me:

**Ryu does not own Naruto. **(Ryu does not own Naruto.)

**Or anyone in said manga/anime.** (Or anyone in said manga/anime)

**Ryu does own everyone else. **(Ryu does own everyone else.)

Perfect. Now, remember it!

**Ryu: **Alright! Alright! Next chapter, one day, EVERYONE HAPPY! RIGHT?

**Gaara: ** Don't mind her. She's been really busy with three jobs and co-authoring another fanfic with one of her roommates. It's actually turned out pretty interesting. (World of Naruto by MechaKeitaro)

**Kyo:** Plus the other, what, four she's working on…

**Ryu:** looking at flood of people who wanted her story AGES ago Sorry! He can't type to save his life. You'd be waiting years between chapters. Besides, I'm back!

**Etna:** Don't worry. I've got my spear to her back. She can't get out of this.

**Chapter 7: The First Test**

Kisaike sat, waiting, hiding, watching. She had been sitting on her lodging's roof since she had returned from the dinner with the Konoha genin, waiting for her twin's emergence. Suddenly, a movement on a nearby roof caught her eye. She stared as Gaara entered the scene. The light from the waxing moon played in the pools of his aquamarine eyes as he surveyed the night. Suddenly, he took off, jumping from roof to roof. She watched, still from her hidden vantage point, as he alighted on a particularly high rooftop, and stood there, eyeing the city. Then he sat, staring at the moon. Kisai felt a stab of pain in her heart.

That's exactly what we used to do together, she thought. She looked at him again, one last time, then went inside.

The next day seemed to come quicker than she anticipated. She awoke before dawn, and went to the roof with a cup of coffee to enjoy the sunrise. She sat and watched the sun flow lazily into the sky, warming the world below. She stood, stretched, and went inside to prepare for the coming day. She practiced her henge, tweaking it occasionally to make sure she looked nothing like herself. She had decided on a male henge for the first test, since pretty much all the examiners would be male. Once she felt she got it just right, she took off, cruising above the streets, jumping from roof to roof. Smiling, she entered the examination hall and went to the room across the hall from the examination room. When she entered, she dropped the henge for a bit, so that the Hokage could recognize her. The Hokage stood there talking to a large man with numerous scars. She walked up to the two of them.

"Ahh. Here she is now." The Hokage turned to her with a smile, then gestured to the large man. "This is Morino Ibiki. He's the proctor for the first exam." He turned to Ibiki. "This is Kisaike. She's the one that we spoke of."

Ibiki turned to face Kisaike, who gazed up into his hard eyes unflinchingly. Suddenly, he broke into a wide grin. "So, you're the genius from a new village, huh? Well, welcome to Konoha. Let me explain what this first examination is all about." He handed her a clipboard. "This first portion is a written test. The test isn't completely the written stuff though. We're also testing their information gathering skills; the only difference is that we're calling it cheating. When you notice that someone is cheating, you mark down what seat it was and what it was that made you notice that person was cheating. That way their sensei can talk to them about how they messed up. Five times caught, and that's it. Just call their number and tell them they failed." He paused for breath, then continued. "We expect that they will cheat. If you notice anything interesting, any interesting way of gathering information that you think may be useful to be taught in classes, please write it down. Don't forget, ANYTHING that you notice that makes you know that they are cheating, mark it down. An enemy may very well be another ninja. They need to be able to gather information quickly, quietly, and, most importantly, without notice."

Kisaike nodded, glancing at the clipboard. It was just blank paper. She looked back up at Ibiki. "Anything else, Morino-san?" She henge-ed back into her disguise.

He shook his head. "No. Just wait for a few. The students are gathering as we speak." He gestured to the room across the hall. After about 15 minutes, the sound of a scuffle emanated from the room. "Ok. Time to go."

The smoke bomb burst. When the smoke cleared, she was standing with the others in front of a room full of people, most older than herself. They all looked back at the examiners, some with the guilty look of being caught doing something they knew they weren't supposed to. She had made sure she blended in with the rest of the examiners, age and outfit wise. So, looking out over the crowd of genin, she didn't feel awkward. In fact, considering that most of the examiners were chuunin themselves, she felt rather comfortable in their midst. While Ibiki gave the opening speech, she found a place to sit, next to an examiner she didn't recognize. She saw the strings, though, and who they belonged to. She shook her head slightly, then smiled good-naturedly at the group when Ibiki announced that the examiners would be watching them. She saw Naruto, looking nervous away from his teammates. She located Sakura and Sasuke too. Sakura was unflinchingly confident, and Sasuke was, well, Sasuke.

She looked down at her clipboard, and began to write. She wrote her henge name at the top, her examiner number, and Kankurou's little puppet friend. Looking back over the group again, her eyes settled on Gaara. He was performing the third eye jutsu. But instead of trying to hide it, he performed it right out in the open. She shook her head, and jotted it down. She looked over to Temari. No 'cheating' going on there. Looking around, she spotted quite a few others gathering information in a not so subtle fashion. Finally, after a few moments, it was time. She let loose a kunai. It thunked into the paper of an unfortunate, and exceptionally unsubtle, nin. He jumped, then looked at her.

"Out," she said quietly, in her male henge voice. "You fail."

He protested for a moment, then his shoulders drooped, and he and his teammates shuffled out the door.

That first failure broke the seal, as people, in an effort to be careful, gave themselves away. Too much caution could be just as bad as too little, she thought, as she failed another student.

Finally, Ibiki called time. "It's time now for the tenth question." Ibiki ran through the speech about the question, not taking the question, and failing the question. Quite a few people opted out of the question and left. She watched as the room emptied out slowly. Suddenly, Naruto put up his hand, then slammed it back down on the table.

"Don't underestimate me!" he yelled. She smiled as he went on, and looked around to see that those who looked like they had been wavering steadied. Everyone smiled, looking toward the front, waiting on this question. Finally, Ibiki sighed.

"Then to all who remain here, there is only one thing to tell you." He smiled. "You pass."

The last bit of the test time went quickly, when suddenly, someone wrapped in black cloth, burst through the window. After setting herself up, she introduced herself as Anko, the second exam proctor. After telling the genin they would be cut by more than half in the next test, she let them go.

Kisaike dropped the henge, and went to introduce herself to Anko.

"Didn't I say all genin were dismissed?" she asked curtly, rounding on her.

Kisaike's eyes steeled. "I apologize, Anko-san, but I am not a genin."

Anko's eyes settled on Kisaike's hitae, and she looked startled. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you were our guest. But, you look a lot like one…"

"Gaara is my twin brother."

"Ahh."

The proctors called to Kisaike. She turned and followed them to a group of seats neat the back of the exam room.

"We're seeing how people did and what they noticed," said one. "Why don't you start?"

She nodded. "Alright. The first thing I noticed was Kankurou's little proctor puppet." Eyes widened. No one else had noticed that very early. "Gaara's third eye. The Hyuuga's Byakugan. Uchiha's Sharingan. Yamanaka's body take over. Tenten and Lee's elaborate set-up of mirrors, I almost missed that one."

"Whoa. Ok, I think we all missed that one. Elaborate."

"Well, apparently, somehow, they managed to get a set-up of mirrors on the ceiling. Look." She pointed. While the mirrors had vanished with the genin, the holes where they had been were still visible.

"How'd you catch it?"

"Lee, actually. He never puts his forehead protector on his forehead. He said it might mess up his eyebrows. So, when he did, I followed his eyes and found the mirrors. Took me quite a while to find out who was controlling them though. Finally, when one of the failed walked by, I saw a slight glint by Tenten's hand. They did pretty well with that one."

The proctors were nodding and laughing when Ibiki came up. "We have a few people who got a full grade on the test." He called out names. When he got to one name, Kisaike whistled. He turned to her. "What was that for?"

"If she aced the questions, she did so on her own intelligence. She didn't cheat in the slightest."

The proctors looked around them. The shuffling of papers could be heard as they looked through them. Proctors began to nod.

"She has no real abilities to speak of, no jutsu she could have used. And she was too far away from either of the ringers. She got all the questions right on her own."

Now even Ibiki and Anko looked surprised. "I am impressed. Well, let's see how she does with the rest of the exam. If she does this well, she will probably make chuunin without too much difficulty," said Anko.

Everyone left after a little while. Kisaike was wandering down the street, wondering where she could eat when one of the genins came toward her and waved her down.

"Hi Kisaike!"

"Hey Tenten, what's up?"

"Actually, I was looking for you," the bun-headed girl replied. "I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner with me, Lee, Neji and Gai-sensei. I cook really well."

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

She smiled sadly. "I'm sure. They died when I was little. I raised myself from about age eight." She looked up. "Kinda like you."

Kisaike smiled. "I'd love to."

**Ryu:** Ha! To all those people who said I couldn't get it done!

**Gaara:** Ok, no flipping out today…please…

**Ryu:** Reviews! Must have reviews:stumbles around like zombie:


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